1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of overhead crane assemblies for buildings and the like and, in particular, to a crane assembly useful in the manufacture of gas bags for lighter than air vehicles.
2. Description of Related Art
There are basically two types of Lighter-than-air vehicles; rigid or non-rigid. There are three general types of non-rigid vehicles: those comprising a single gas filled bag; several gas bags joined together in series; and, of course, those having a multiple number gas bags within a non-rigid envelope. In non-rigid designs, the flight station and cargo compartments are suspended from the bottom of the vehicle, in what is most often referred to as a gondola.
One of the main problems in the manufacture of large single gas bag non-rigid vehicles occurs during final assembly thereof. The gas bag is typically assembled from rolls of small strips of cloth impregnated with a resin. These strips of cloth are laid out, cut to length and joined to form larger portions of the gas bag. These portions, in turn, are joined to each other to form even larger segments of the gas bag. During this build up process, catenary curtains, doublers, various attachment fittings, and etc. are joined thereto. As larger segments of the gas bag are joined together, such large items as ballonets are joined thereto. Finally one gets to a point wherein the assembled segment has grown so large it covers the entire available floor space of any reasonably sized building. Furthermore, manually handling extremely large segments, for example a segment 800 feet in length and 60 feet in width on a floor is next to impossible. Thus during final assembly, the segments thereof must be raised above the floor to ease final assembly, which involves the seaming of these very large segments together.
Thus it is a primary object of the subject invention to provide an over head crane assembly.
It is another primary object of the subject invention to provide an over head crane assembly for supporting portions of a gas bag for a lighter-than-air vehicle during assembly.
It is a further object of the subject invention to provide an over head crane assembly for supporting portions of a gas bag for a lighter-than-air vehicle during assembly that is computer controlled.